


the beginning of a beautiful friendship

by helsinkibaby



Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Accidental First Date, Age Difference, Community: comment_fic, F/M, First Kiss, Het, Rare Pair, Romance, dinner and a movie
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-05
Updated: 2016-09-05
Packaged: 2018-08-13 06:56:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,171
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7966864
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/helsinkibaby/pseuds/helsinkibaby
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>There is nothing wrong, Caitlin reminds herself, with going to the movies alone.</p>
            </blockquote>





	the beginning of a beautiful friendship

**Author's Note:**

  * For [boomersoonerash](https://archiveofourown.org/users/boomersoonerash/gifts).



> Theme: cinematic Monday  
> Prompt: Caitlin Snow/Joe West, dinner and a movie

There was, Caitlin resolutely reminded herself, nothing wrong with going to the movies alone. Granted, she would have preferred some company, but Barry and Iris already had a date organised and while Cisco probably would have agreed to go with her out of some misguided sense of loyalty or worse, pity, he just didn't strike her exactly as a "Casablanca" kind of guy. In fact, she knew he wasn't - he'd seen the advertisement just like she had and had instantly begun complaining about how it was completely over-rated as a movie and how utterly boring it was. 

 

So here she was, alone, trying not to think about how sad it was that her entire social circle boiled down to three people. 

 

To hell it with - extra large popcorn, with butter, would make everything better. 

 

She was paying for her purchases - she'd added a large Coke, full fat, full sugar because why the heck not? - when she heard a familiar voice behind her. "Caitlin?"

 

She turned slowly, fighting the blush that was threatening to creep up her cheeks. There was nothing wrong with running into Joe West here, she told herself. Even if she was alone. Even if it turned out that he wasn't. Especially if it turned out that he wasn't, because then that would kill, for once and for all, the completely inappropriate crush she'd found herself developing lately and she definitely wouldn't feel guilty about the amount of salt and sugar she was about to consume. 

 

"Joe, hi." To her own ears, she sounded happy to see him, if a little surprised, both of which were absolutely true. "Fancy seeing you here." 

 

He glanced from the popcorn and soda in her hands to her face, then looked to the left and right of her. The tiniest of frowns appeared on his face. "Are you on your own?"

 

Fighting the blush wasn't working: Caitlin could feel her cheeks going pink. She tried not to let it show that it bothered her though, shrugged her shoulders, tossed her hair back. "No-one wanted to see 'Casablanca' with me," she admitted. "Which is a crime against cinema, in my opinion. We should work on something to remedy that." 

 

Joe raised one eyebrow. "All the times you've sat through 'Star Wars' with them? I agree." He was teasing her because, yes, OK, she may have complained once or twice about that very thing. Maybe four or five times. Barry and Cisco had watched 'The Force Awakens' a lot. 

 

"Thank you." She didn't have to fake her gratitude. "What are you here to see?" 

 

He held up his ticket and while as a doctor she knew it wasn't actually physically possible, her heart felt like it skipped a beat as he said, "Same as you. And no-one wanted to see it with me either." He looked at her, then at his watch. "It's about to start... I don't suppose you'd like some company?" 

 

A rush of exhilaration shot through her and she smiled. "That would be nice," she said. He stepped towards her and she said quickly, and without conscious thought, "But I'm not sharing my popcorn." 

 

She wanted the ground to open up and swallow her but then he laughed, warm and low and it made her laugh too. "Wouldn't dream of it," he promised, stepping around her to buy his own. 

 

The movie had been scheduled early in the evening so the theatre wasn't too full and they easily found seats side by side. "I've never seen it on the big screen before," Caitlin whispered, a sense of almost childish glee taking over and Joe looked across at her, still smiling. 

 

"Barry and Iris can't stand this film," he said and she heard the question he wasn't asking. 

 

"It was my dad's favourite," she admitted. "We used to watch it all the time... especially when he got sick..." She smiled sadly. "Every Sunday afternoon, we'd sit down together, a tub of ice cream and we'd watch it..." He nodded, like he understood. "Don't worry," she quipped. "I promise not to recite it word for word." 

 

Much to her surprise, he reached out, covered her hand with his. "I wouldn't mind." 

 

Just then, the lights went down. 

 

He didn't let go of her hand. 

 

In fact, he didn't let go of her hand for the whole movie. 

 

Which was fine with her. 

 

He held her hand until the lights went up again and only let it go so that she could scrabble in her purse for the packet of tissues she'd stashed there, knowing she was going to need them. "Every time," she muttered, patting her cheeks, running the tissue under her eyelashes. She tried not to look at him until she'd made herself presentable but it was hard without a mirror so she did the best she could. When she did finally meet his eyes, she saw that same understanding smile she'd see when she'd told him about her dad. "I must look a state," she heard herself say. 

 

He shook his head, a look in his eyes that she'd never seen before but had often daydreamed about. "On you? No such thing." 

 

Her cheeks flamed scarlet and she ducked her head to hide it. She didn't think she succeeded though and she knew she didn't succeed in hiding her smile from him. 

 

"So I was wondering," he said then, "if you're not full after all that popcorn... how would you like to grab some dinner? With me." He added on the last two words in a hurry, with an expression of almost confusion on his face. She didn't know if he was surprised that he'd asked her in the first place or afraid that she'd misinterpret the question, like there was someone else around that she might want to have dinner with. 

 

She knew what her answer would be. 

 

But first, she had a question of her own, one that she wouldn't have dared to ask if he hadn't just spent the last two hours holding her hand. 

 

"As friends?" she asked. "Or...?" 

 

She let her voice trail off, her eyes not leaving his, so she saw the flare of surprise, saw the second he made his decision. Just like she saw, in the periphery of her vision, his hand once again reaching out, closing over hers. "Or," he replied. "Definitely, or." 

 

Another rush of exhilaration, even headier than the earlier one, coursed through her. But there was still one more question she needed to ask because, damn it, she was Caitlin Snow and she needed to know all the variables before she could move ahead with an experiment. "And if people ask us... if Barry, or Iris or Cisco want to know..." 

 

She stopped when he smiled, when his hand reached out and cupped her cheek. "I say we tell them," he said as he leaned in, dropping his voice to murmur, just as his lips were about to touch hers, "that this could be the beginning of a beautiful friendship."


End file.
